MP3 Cecilia Angell - Leading Ladies
A potpourri of dramatic soprano arias from operas by Barber, Catalani, de Falla, Giordano, Granados, Mascagni, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi.
13 MP3 Songs in this album (63:02) !
Related styles: CLASSICAL: Opera, CLASSICAL: Arias
Details:
Peruvian-born soprano Cecilia Angell is enthusiastically acclaimed for the “warmth and distinctive timbre of her lush voice,” “searing charisma” and “natural beauty.” Her performances are unanimously applauded for her "vivid acting." For more information, please visit her website, https://www.tradebit.com. Thank you!
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Steven Crawford, pianist
(Tracks 2,5,6,10,11,12,13)
Ron Land, pianist
(Tracks 1,3,4,7,8,9)
Photography by Devon Cass.
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Informal liner notes for the new opera listener:
Total Listening Time: 63:08
1. Aria: “Una macchia” (A Spot) - 6:16
Role: Lady Macbeth
Opera: Macbeth (Italian); Premiere in 1847
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Summary: In order for her husband Macbeth to be king, Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill King Duncan. Now, sleepwalking and crazy, Lady Macbeth is guilty and pretends to wash the blood from her hands.
Libretto available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
2. Aria: “Vissi d’arte” (I lived for art, I lived for love) - 3:31
Role: Tosca
Opera: Tosca (Italian); Premiere in 1900
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Summary: Tosca’s husband has been tortured by Scarpia and she knows that the only way to save her husband is to offer her body to Scarpia. Tosca asks God why she must go through this pain after a life of devotion to the Church.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
3. Aria: “Voi lo sapete, o mamma” (You know Mamma) - 4:09
Role: Santuzza
Opera: Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Cavalry) (Italian); Premiere in 1890
Composer: Pietro Mascagni
Summary: Santuzza, a peasant, tells Mamma Lucia that when her son Turridu left for the army, he had promised to marry Lola. But when he returned, he found Lola had already married. So in his pain, Turridu fell in love with Santuzza. But, the jealous Lola stole Turridu away from Santuzza and now Santuzza is excommunicated from the Church and society.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
4. Aria: “Turridu mi tolse l''onore” (Turridu stole my honor) - 2:37
Role: Santuzza
Opera: Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Calvary) (Italian)
Composer: Pietro Mascagni
Summary: Santuzza, in her anger, tells Alfio how his wife, Lola, cheated on him. Immediately, she regrets it.
5. Aria: “D''amor sull''ali rosee” (On the rosy wings of love) - 5:37
Role: Leonora
Opera: Il trovatore (The Troubadour) (Italian); Premiere in 1853
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Summary: After trying to save his mother, Manrico has been arrested. Leonora is in love with Manrico and comes to see him in the middle of the night. Leonora sings of her love for him outside the prison tower and wants him to hear her, hoping that her love can save him.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
6. Aria: “Crudele? … Non mi dir” (Cruel? Do not tell me) - 6:43
Role: Donna Anna
Opera: Don Giovanni (Italian); Premiere in 1787
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Summary: Donna Anna, who is still strongly affected by her father''s murder, asks that Don Ottavio cease talking about marriage until she has had time to get over this tragedy. She still loves him, she says, but would like him to be patient.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
7. Aria: “La mamma morta” (My mother died) - 5:33
Role: Maddalena
Opera: Andrea Chenier (Italian); Premiere in 1896
Composer: Umberto Giordano
Summary: During the French Revolution, Andrea Chenier, who Maddalena is deeply in love with, has been arrested for defying the government. Gerard had Andrea Chenier arrested and to save him, Maddalena offers Gerard her body. Terrified of him, she tells him how a mob burned her house, killed her mother and left her alone in despair. Then, out of all the misery of her life, love came to her and gave her hope to continue living. Moved, Gerard vows to help her.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
8. Aria: “La Maja y el Ruisenor” (The lady and the nightingale) - 5:59
Role: Rosario
Opera: Goyescas (Spanish); Premiere in 1916
Composer: Enrique Granados
Summary: The third tableau reveals Rosario’s garden. She is discovered sitting by herself on a stone bench listening in a pensive mood to the song of the nightingale. This is a famous aria, one of the most beautiful and luxuriant ever written.
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
9. Aria: “Allí está riendo” (There he is, laughing) - 3:53
Role: Salud
Opera: La vida breve (The Brief Life) (Spanish); Premiere in 1913
Composer: Manuel de Falla
Summary: Salud, a peasant, discovers that her lover Paco has lied to her. Salud walks on the scene and sees Paco in the middle of a party celebrating his marriage to Carmela, a woman of higher class. In a stirring dramatic phrase, Salud resolves that it is better to die than to live suffering.
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
10. Aria: “Morro, ma prima in grazia” (I go, but in compassion) - 4:36
Role: Amelia
Opera: Un ballo in maschera (A masked ball) (Italian); Premiere in 1859
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Summary: Amelia is in love with King Ricardo but is married to Renato, the king’s best friend. Renato discovers Amelia and Ricardo together at midnight and, thinking that Amelia has cheated on him, says he will kill her. She is innocent but submits to him, asking for one last request before she dies: to see her only son. Renato acquiesces and spares her life.
Libretto available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
11. Aria: “Ebben? Ne andro lontana” (Well, I shall go far away) - 3:43
Role: Wally
Opera: La Wally (Italian); Premiere in 1892
Composer: Alfredo Catalani
Summary: Wally is in love with Hagenbach. However, her father does not approve of Hagenbach and wants her to marry his own friend Gellner instead. He gives her a choice: marry Gellner or leave the house. When faced with this decision, Wally simply decides to leave. She despairs that she will never see her house again but she knows that she must be strong.
Translation available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
12. Aria: “Do not utter a word” - 4:43
Role: Vanessa
Opera: Vanessa (English); Premiere in 1958
Composer: Samuel Barber
Summary: After waiting in solitude for over twenty years for him to return, Vanessa’s lover Anatol finally arrives. Vanessa has remained faithful to him and has tried to preserve her beauty and remain young for him, because she was always sure he would come back. She says “unless you still love me, do not dare look in my eyes.” Anatol assures Vanessa he does, but when she turns around to look at him, she screams in shock. What Vanessa does not know is that this Anatol is the former Anatol’s son!
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com
13. Aria: “Pace, pace mio Dio” (Peace, peace my God) - 5:42
Role: Leonora
Opera: La forza del destino (The force of destiny) (Italian); Premiere 1862
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Summary: Leonora was about to elope with Alvaro, but her father, who disapproved of the pair, caught them at the last minute. After a brief struggle, Alvaro shot Leonora’s father by accident and before dying, he cursed his daughter. For revenge, Leonora’s brother wants to kill her and Alvaro. So the two lovers separated and have not seen each other since. Now, for all of these years, Leonora has hidden in a cave near the church, living as a monk for safety. Through all the despair, she never stopped loving Alvaro. She asks God for peace for her tortured soul and lost love. About to eat the bread left for her by the monks, she hears the clash of swords and men shouting nearby. She curses them (“Maledizione!”) for trespassing on the sacred ground. What Leonora does not know is that the force of destiny has brought Alvaro back to her for one last bittersweet moment. It is Alvaro and her brother fighting nearby!
Libretto available here: https://www.tradebit.com
More information available here: https://www.tradebit.com